Surveillance

Lead: Dr Ian Cadden, Consultant Hepatologist. Royal Victoria hospital

Work stream aim:

To ensure that robust systems are agreed and established to support surveillance of HCV infection in NI.

Objectives

  • To agree actions required, and who should undertake these actions, following confirmation of a new case of HCV infection by the Regional Virus Laboratory (RVH) in NI, including cases diagnosed in the antenatal setting;
  • To continue the central HCV register enabling, recording all surveillance data on HCV infected individuals in NI onto a central database
  • To agree processes for collation and analysis of surveillance data contained within the HCV  central database on a regular basis (quarterly and annual reports);
  • To agree processes whereby information derived from the database will be used to promote increased uptake of testing for HCV infection in high risk groups;
  • To agree how information derived from the database will be used to address the gap between total number of confirmed HCV cases and number of cases referred for work-up/assessment for treatment.
  • To work with PHA to use surveillance data for HBV and information from the liver unit HBV database to enhance information available on HBV infected patients in Northern Ireland
  • Determine the gap between individuals detected as HBV and HCV positive and those patients presenting for treatment; enabling increased pickup of those diagnosed with HBV and HCV, but not yet referred to hepatology.
  • To establish the appropriateness of case findings for HBV and HCV infection amongst high risk ethnic minority populations in NI.
  • To agree how information derived from HBV database can be cross referred with outputs from RVH and PHA relating to acute/chronic HBV cases, in an attempt to address the gap between total numbers of confirmed acute/chronic HBV cases referred for work up/ treatment by liver unit RVH.